Little slap on the wrist coming up so hold your hand out and turn your head!!!! :-)

Particularly with bipolar and meds - BAD idea going off them!!! By doing this you can actually cause them to be less effective when you are put back on them.

Go back to your Dr and go back on them under supervision. When it comes to meds and weight gain, sometimes the meds are blamed for the weight but in actual fact, prior to taking them, some people can actually suffer from loss of appetite so when you START to take them and are feeling emotionally better, then your appetite returns which CAN cause the increase of weight, but it isn't actually the meds causing the increase, but feeling healthier.

Now IF IT IS the meds causing the weight gain, then weigh up this - on the one hand feeling better emotionally and having control a lot more control over and enjoyment of your life, or feeling miserable, having no quality and staying thinner! I know which I would chose time and time again - the meds and feeling healthier.

Your Dr MAY have an alternative med to give you, but your best bet is to see a Psychiatrist rather than a GP because the Psychiatrist has a far better arsenal of meds, combinations and dose to work with - that is afterall their specialty! Is your "Mental Health Dr" a Psychiatrist or a Psychologist? If you don't already have a Psychiatrist, ask for a referral to one.

slim, you are so on top of things..i am suppose to be on zoloft and abilify because i am bipolar and depression...but i havent taken my meds in a month..im afraid my meds are causing me to gain weight? i really need to go see my mental health dr and get back on track. i will talk to my daughter in law and see if she will take me to our appts..will set appts up next week...thanks for the motivation..also want to see if the meds were causeing me to gain and see if there are other ones that dont have those side effects. p.s. will check out the dealing with depression team thanks alot. smiles and hugs

It doesn't sound crazy at all. What it DOES sound like is that you are suffering from depression, which would be quite understandable given your situation.

Why don't you get your daughter-in-law to take you to your Dr ASAP!! - she can mind your little girl while you are in the consulting room. Explain to the Dr what is happening - the getting up really late, lack of motivation, the pressure you are under re your daughter, your financial situation AND the back pain, and I am sure that he/she will strongly consider this as a possible diagnosis. Chronic pain in itself can also cause depression! It MAY be that you require some meds to help you through this for a while, and/or a referral to a Therapist.

I am a co-moderator of the Dealing with Depression Team (I THINK the largest team on SP with over 620,000 members). You can access it through my link at the bottom if you want.

Slim im in distress, over the summer i have become lazy and dont get up til aroung 1pm...isnt that crazy. i really need to get a routine going, but no motivation to do it. Ugghhh..Hopefully i can do this next week, changing my sleeping habits is difficult. As for my daughter, my daughter in law will care for her...but i have to wait until my van is legal,.we just got it fixed and we are a family of limited means. I really have to get things in routine here and balanced..or im going to lose it..thanks and god bless

I can't do caregiving anymore either because of my back and hips. When I was sent to an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the age of 43, he told me that this comes to most in the end, but it came to me a lot sooner. He also told me if I even vacuumed again I would be a very silly woman! Needless to say, I do vacuum, BUT I do it when I am not in much or any pain, AND I don't change linen on the same day. I also try to not do anything else that requires a lot (for me) of walking/standing or grocery shopping on those days.

I was told that up to 5kg (approx 12lb) would be my limit for safe lifting.

Are you able to get someone to care for your daughter so that you can have the time at your appointments? I know that it is quite difficult with a special needs child and it can be very hard to do a "good for everyone" balancing act.

I havent seen my dr in about two months...due to having to deal with issues on my daughters adhd problems. i was going to pt but because of the issues with my daughter, i didnt finish. My dr said i would never be able to do cna work again and was concerned about the lifting required. i really need to set up an appt with the dr. just to get cleared, meanwhile i will be as carefull as i can be. Yes, walking...i walk a mile two to three times a week, enjoy it and doesnt cause much pain either. thank you all for your concern and will check things out. god bless

Slimmerkiwi is exactly right. Get cleared first. You can definitely cause problems by jumping ahead. Have you been given any limitations (or asked). Often after surgery you are limited to how much weight you can lift, twisting, etc. Please be very careful.

Did your dr send you to rehab? I went for three weeks to learn how to use a grabber, take a shower and get dressed, walk and walk somemore......walking is the best exercise I have found to do and my lower back is still weak. I am being weaned off my back brace and if I don't walk, I am as weak as a new kitten. I had to cook a meal and standing more than ten minutes was a real hard job.....so give your body time to heal and ask for help.

I can understand being eager to get back to normal and work out, but I can tell you from having been a caregiver - rush into it before your body is ready, and you can actually do MORE damage! This is why it is vitally important to get that feedback from the medical professionals.

when i did my strength exercised yesterday i realized that i still have limitations to what i can do. I had surgery about three months ago, and some of my strength training is too hard on my back and leaves me in pain. I guess that only means i need to change to some safer exercises. I just dont want my body to be weak and limited, hopes this will change soon. best wishes to all and god bless

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